Hair damage through protein loss is a known problem; however, most people have no recognition of the amount of protein loss experienced by their hair, or their level of hair health in general. Protein loss may be caused by everyday occurrences and environmental factors such as UV ray exposure, bleaching, coloring, perming, straightening, heat, mechanical manipulation, and salt water contact.
Proper hair architecture at the molecular level is an important characteristic of hair that has a healthy look, shine and feel. The hair comprises mostly protein and is not regenerative after it exits the scalp. Therefore, it is valuable to have products which protect the overall protein integrity of the hair. Thus, protection of the hair shaft on the protein and fiber level is important to ensure hair has a healthy look.
Identifying the peptide extracted from the hair and correlating the type of peptide with a type of hair damage 1) enables a correct identification of the type of damage to the hair, and 2) may provide the information necessary to design products which either prevent the damage, or in the case of heat or other treatments do not generate the damage. Additionally, it is also valuable to identify particular types of hair disease. Hair of individuals with hair diseases, do not react to damage and/or treatments in the same way as normal hair. Therefore, it may be possible to indicate what type of hair disease is present based upon the response of the hair at a protein level to a particular type of damage.
Heat Damage Effects
It is known that hair is a keratin-based peptide, and like most peptides it is susceptible to thermal degradation. As hair is exposed to increasing temperatures near or above its denaturation temperature via blow dryers, flat iron or curling irons, the peptides begin to degrade and the disulfide bonds begin to decouple. This structural degradation leads to a weakened hair fiber that is more susceptible to breakage and mechanical damage. Further, as hair is continually exposed the repeated heat treatments and high temperatures this degradation is further exacerbated.
Also, as the peptide is identified, products which utilize the available bonds that result from the peptide loss, in particular products specialized for specific damage types, can be produced.